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He proved to be the star once again when he set up Douglas Costa's winner with a deft slide-rule pass.

Brazil coach Dunga said: "Neymar is a decisive player. He has been playing at Barcelona where the competition is great, but everybody in this team is decisive. This competition is totally different. Neymar, Miranda and Douglas were all decisive.

"It's to be expected that players drop a level after the seasons they've had in Europe. Peru made things very difficult, especially in the first half. In the second half, goalkeeper Jefferson didn't touch the ball."

Neymar, who won the man-of-the-match award admitted that it was a tough match.

But he said: "We got the win and that’s important.”

Neymar has now reached 44 international goals at the age of 23, a year earlier than Brazilian legend Pele.

The 23-year-old exhibited some terrific skill. An example of this was when Neymar expertly lifted the ball over the same Peruvian player twice in seconds.

“I want to keep on reaching records, with goals, assists and everything that can help the team to win,” Neymar said.